1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a PDP including electrodes that compensate for different discharge characteristics of differently colored discharge cells.
2. Discussion of the Background
Generally, plasma display panels (PDPs) include front and rear panels facing each other with a plurality of discharge cells therebetween. Discharge electrodes arranged on the panels generate a discharge within the discharge cells, which contain a discharge gas, thereby generating ultraviolet (UV) rays. The UV rays excite a phosphor layer within the discharge cells to emit light that forms visible images.
Such PDPs may be direct current (DC) PDPs or alternating current (AC) PDPs depending on the driving voltage applied to the discharge cells. Further, they may be facing discharge PDPs or surface discharge PDPs according to electrode configuration.
In a conventional three-electrode surface discharge PDP, barrier ribs may be arranged between the front and rear panels to define a plurality of pixels. A phosphor layer is coated on surfaces of the barrier ribs, and vacuum UV rays are converted into visible rays through the phosphor layer, thereby displaying an image with the pixels. However, before a pixel is discharged to display an image, signals are transmitted to the corresponding address electrodes.
In a method of manufacturing a rear panel, address electrodes, which are used to generate an address discharge to select discharge cells, are formed on the rear panel, a dielectric layer is printed on the address electrodes, barrier ribs are formed on the dielectric layer, and red, green, and blue phosphor layers are formed on the sides of the barrier ribs. The address electrodes may be formed in strips.
FIG. 1 is a view showing discharge electrodes, as disclosed in Korean Laid Open Patent Application No. 2003-13036, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a PDP including the discharge electrodes of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, display electrodes 16 and scanning electrodes 18 are alternately disposed, and address electrodes 14 are disposed in a direction crossing the display electrodes 16 and the scanning electrodes 18. Additionally, barrier ribs 12 of the strip pattern are disposed in non-discharge areas to partition discharge cells.
The address electrodes 14 include non-conductive regions 14a where the address electrodes 14 face the display electrodes 16. The non-conductive regions 14a do not include any address electrode material, they correspond to the display electrodes 16, and they are formed entirely within the address electrodes 14.
The address electrodes 14 structured as described above have reduced areas where they face the display electrodes 16. Thus, charges generated in address periods accumulate on a region of a transparent dielectric layer 20 covering the scanning electrodes 18 and on a region of a dielectric layer 22, which covers the address electrodes 14, facing the scanning electrodes 18. Substantially no charges accumulate on the dielectric layer 22 above the non-conductive regions 14a. 
As such, the non-conductive regions 14a prevent charges from accumulating on the dielectric layer 22 facing the display electrodes 16 and from traveling towards the display electrodes 16 to accumulate on the transparent dielectric layer 20 at the display electrodes 16.
Thus, when selectively discharging display cells by applying a discharge sustain voltage Vs between scanning electrodes 16 and display electrodes 18, if wall charges do not accumulate towards the display electrodes 16 as described above, a difference between the amount of wall charges predicted during designing and the amount of wall charges generated by actually applying an address voltage may be minimized.
Although the conventional strip type address electrodes 14 may improve erroneous discharge, designing a PDP that may adjust the discharge characteristics of discharge cells coated with red, green, and blue phosphor layers, as well as decrease electric field interference between neighboring address electrodes 14 in adjacent discharge cells, is desired.